July 23, 2013

S2P2J Release 54

Publisher Law Journal Press anticipates an October 2013 distribution date for hardcopy supplements for Release 54 of "Structured Settlements and Periodic Payment Judgments" (S2P2J)
with online S2P2J subscribers receiving their update simultaneously at
no additional charge.

Online S2P2J includes a search feature and
download capability as well as link features to access individual book
sections, appendices, footnotes, cases and statutes.

First published in 1986 and updated semi-annually, S2P2J is co-authored byDaniel W. Hindert, Joseph J. Dehner and Patrick J. Hindert. Both the National Structured Settlement Trade Association (NSSTA) and the Society of Settlement Planners (SSP) have utilized S2P2J as an educational resource for their certification programs.

Negotiating Structured Settlements vs. Cashing Out -
Why and when should defendants agree to structured settlements as
opposed to lump sum settlements? Do defendants save money using
structured settlements and, if yes, why and how? Do structured
settlements result in additional costs and risks for defendants and, if
yes, how do defendants reduce these costs and risks? Release 54 examines
these questions in the context of existing state statutes and case law
and offers recommendations for defendants when they review their
traditional structured settlement policies and business practices. The
recommendations include new sample structured settlement Mission and
Disclosure Statements for liability insurers.

Insurance Company Insolvencies
- Release 54 expands and updates S2P2J's already extensive coverage of
insurance company insolvencies including state insurance guaranty
associations and the most recent developments impacting Executive Life
of New York [ELNY] and Reliance Insurance Company. Following ELNY's 22
years of New York State supervised "rehabilitation", S2P2J's Release 54
identifies lessons that potential structured settlement recipients and
their attorneys and advisers can and should learn from the ELNY debacle.

Medicare Set-Aside Arrangements
- Release 54 re-organizes and promotes S2P2J's coverage of Medicare
set-aside arrangements (MSAs) with updated materials for both workers
compensation (WC) MSAs and liability MSAs. These updates include an
extensive summary and analysis of the structured settlement provisions
in the new CMS WCMSA Reference Guide as well as conclusions and
recommendations for utilizing MSAs in personal injury liability cases.

Re-cycled Structured Settlement Payment Rights
- As low interest rates continue to negatively impact the primary
structured settlement market, new products featuring re-cycled
structured settlement payment rights have begun to proliferate as
funding alternatives for personal injury periodic payment settlements.
Release 54 features a new section with detailed diagrams and charts (designed by Timothy Morbach) to
explain the several variations of these products. In addition, this new
section compares the features of these products with traditional
structured settlements and summarizes recent investor warnings about
these products issued by the SEC and FINRA.

Securitization of Structured Settlement Payment Rights - S2P2J already includes a detailed Chapter 16 titled "Transfers of Structured Settlement Payment Rights"
which provides comprehensive coverage of most structured settlement
secondary market issues. This coverage includes: the history of the
secondary market; summary and analysis of IRC section 5891 and the state
structured settlement protection acts; and how judges review (or should
review) transfer applications. Release 54 adds a new section, with
detailed diagrams and charts (designed by Timothy Morbach), explaining how securitization of
structured settlement payment rights works.

Australia Structured Settlement Update
- S2P2J continues to track structured settlement developments in
countries outside the United States including Canada, the United
Kingdom, Continental Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Release 54
highlights a recent legislative development in Australia called “The
Lifetime Care and Support Scheme” which provides treatment,
rehabilitation and attendant care services to people severely injured in
automobile accidents. At least one Australian structured settlement
expert believes this legislative development could prevent an
annuity-funded structured settlement market from developing in Australia
anytime soon.

"Structured Settlements and Periodic Payment Judgments"
is a complete reference work for attorneys, settlement planners,
structured settlement consultants, risk managers, liability insurers,
annuity providers and secondary market participants. It is available in
both hardcopy and online versions which are updated semi-annually. For highlights from previous S2P2J updates, see the structured settlement wiki.